Air Quality Control Agency Provides Vapor Intrusion Mitigation While EPA Brownfields Program Funding Deadline Approaches
The reclamation and redevelopment of former and underutilized commercial and industrial sites, referred to as "brownfields" since the mid 1970s, has become a popular venture for investors seeking to revitalize critical urban areas within cities. The potential of improving property inner city property values and driving residential and commercial traffic back into deteriorating business districts is tremendous. However, this is often complicated by genuine or perceived environmental contamination, the remediation of which can be both difficult to assess and costly to mitigate. The Environmental Protection Agency recognizes the negative image that brownfield redevelopment has to face, and has provided extensive grants to non-profit and governmental agencies for both assessment and cleanup.
The Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfields Program provides assessment grants of up to $200,000 over a period of three years, cleanup grants of up to $200,000 over a period of three years, and revolving loan funds of up to $1 million over a period of five years. According to their news release of October 5, 2011, the program "encourages the redevelopment of America' estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites." The investment is significant. The EPA has "leveraged more than $6.5 billion in brownfields cleanup and redevelopment funding from the private and public sectors, and has created approximately 25,000 new jobs." With potential increases in residential property values and revitalization of urban settings, brownfield redevelopment makes sense from both a planning and an investment perspective.
The EPA Brownfields Program application for 2012 funding will close on November 28, 2011. Eligible non-profit and governmental agencies can use these funds to mitigate contamination by a wide range of hazardous substances, the some of the most common of which are tetracholorethylene (dry cleaning solution), tricholorethylene, benzene, and petroleum hydrocarbon chemicals of concern, which can lie trapped beneath building foundations and "intrude" into the interiorscape of newly reclaimed properties.
In determining the best utilization of available grant monies, non-profit and governmental agencies may face budgetary constraints, particularly when it comes to mitigating volatile organic chemicals. Dry cleaning solution, for instance, is often found in urban brownfields, where it was formerly used for cleaning of everything from clothing for components. In situ (in ground) remediation of this and other organic solvents trapped in soil can be costly and time consuming. As a cost-effective alternative, many developers have turned to the EPA recognized technique called active soil depressurization.
Active Soil Depressurization (ASD), sometimes also referred to as sub-slab depressurization, works on the principle that a negative pressure generated under the foundation or slab of a property, in relation to a positive pressure maintained within the structure, can reduce and prevent volatile chemicals of concern from entering the interiorscape. This technology, which was originally developed for radon mitigation, has been demonstrated as an effective method for improving indoor air quality at a reasonable cost to the developer and resident.
Air Quality Control Agency is a leader in radon and vapor intrusion mitigation systems. Utilizing Active Soil Depressurization and other proprietary technologies, systems are installed which are effective, affordable, and have a low cost of operation. With over 50,000 successful installations of sub-slab depressurization systems for radon, vapor intrusion, vapor encroachment, and moisture mitigation, our company remains at the forefront of technological developments in this field. Our systems have been procured for repurposed and redeveloped properties throughout the country, and our technologies are scalable to scope, size, and price. With a mission to improve public health through the sale of affordable solutions to volatile organic chemical contamination, Air Quality Control is prepared to help non-profit and governmental agencies to get the most from their EPA Brownfields Program fnding for 2012.
Feel free to contact our Managing Director of Commercial Markets, Gordon Satoh, B.S.N.R.E., M.S., at gordons@vaporencroachment.com or, by phone, at (800) 906-6823. Air Quality Control Agency is committed to providing you with innovative solutions which will fit your site, budget, and timeframe.
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Air quality control technology at Dry Fork Stationby pc2drth2,757 views
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